The captain of the ill-fated Staten Island Ferry is getting ready to sue the city.

Michael Gansas says he is blameless in the Oct. 15, 2003, crash that killed 11 people and injured dozens. In a notice of claim, he contends the city owes him some $250,000 in legal fees because it failed to defend him in a probe by the National Transportation Safety Board and lawsuits by victims.

The city said yesterday it has no obligation to provide Gansas legal protection, since he has not cooperated with officials by telling what he knows about the cause of the wreck and explaining why Assistant Capt. Richard Smith was piloting the vessel.

“Mr. Gansas, in addition to failing to comply with the subpoena served on him by the National Transportation Safety Board, failed to cooperate with the city’s attorneys who were seeking to interview him,” said Law Department spokeswoman Kate O’Brien Ahlers. “Accordingly, he was not entitled to representation.”

There was mixed reaction from crash victims.

Lloyd Josephs, who suffered back and leg injuries, said he was outraged. “He hasn’t said what caused the accident, and he wants the city to be paying for his lawyers!” he said.

But Jay Dankner, an attorney for the family of Debra Castro, who was killed in the wreck, said victims should welcome the suit because it focuses blame on the city and not the individuals. He said if Gansas is successful, it could hurt the city’s attempt to use maritime law to limit its liability.

“The city is trying to shirk its responsibility, and Mr. Gansas is saying, ‘I’m not going to let you sit back and do this to me,’ ” he said.

The claim against the city came as Gansas talked to federal prosecutors investigating the wreck. He spoke to them on condition he only be grilled about his understanding of the rules for ferry operation.